AMG Review of Ain't Life Grand

Carrie Nieman
All Music Guide

Widespread Panic's fourth album features tighter, more song-oriented writing. The searing guitar of the opening tune, "Little Kin," introduces a grittier album than the previous year's Everyday. After touring with the first two ~H.O.R.D.E. tours in 1992 and 1993, the band's popularity was growing. Their rousing version of Bloodkin's heartbreak tune "Can't Get High" earned them radio play. As did their own smoothly melodic "Airplane," which features lush vocal harmonies. "Blackout Blues" celebrates the hangover with electric guitar screams and a dance-inducing beat, while "Fishwater"'s chaotic percussion intro awakens the soul. The disc also includes two gorgeous instrumental pieces, "L.A." and the hidden, acoustic guitar track "Waiting for the Wind to Blow the Tree Down in My Backyard." Ain't Life Grand increased Widespread Panic's fan base dramatically and gave them a taste of what continued radio play could mean for the band.